Were Pippa and Michael the foster parents from hell?

[Homeandawayfan.]

I agree how the kids must have hated it going to a school where the headmaster treats it like it is a Victorian workhouse then coming home to a fellow tyrant Michael cracking the whip.

[BobbyFridge]

Fisher is a great character. Stubborn, harsh and judgemental, bloody minded, haunted by his past. But often shows a softer side also and i loved how his relationship with Bobby developed. As a headmaster he provides a lot of conflict and entertaining moments. But some of his methods and attitudes are terrible. He always assumes the worst of the kids and never listens or believes them. Damien must have forgotten his kit and if he says it was stolen he is lying. This tends to be how Fisher, Alf. Michael and sometimes Pippa behave, the kids are always in the wrong. Ailsa i find tends to be calmer and the voice of reason (so many times she has to tell Alf to ''calm down love'') Bobby is the best young adult, she always wants to be fair, i guess because she knows what its like to be blamed for stuff she didn't do. 

[nenehcherry2]

2 hours ago, CaptainHulk said:

The Writers clearly favoured Tom over Michael during Sal's journry into Adulthood,  no dispute.

And given how much of a brat Carly was at times, Did you seriously blame Tom? Ok, she had a crappy life being smacked around by George and being passed over for Samantha but that does NOT give her a free pass!

Some of us liked it better that way! They didn't need to pull out guns every minutes but they did it was like "Oh s***!".  Less is more! 

I personally found Tom pretty one dimensional. I didn't dislike him by any means and Roger was a great actor who brought some life to him. But Tom's script was a very flat one (a subjective point of view, I'll admit). It always felt as though Tom was ready with a "here's a video the department sent for this kind of issue" (for example, Sally learning about conception) or a highly predictable "we stand by all of our kids, no matter what happens"! reaction (though he could be very selective with that cliche). Very textbook, Blue Peter (for the Brits) style of fostering. 

Whereas, Michael had flaws; and not always likeable flaws at that. But those nuances created tension / conflict at times with Pippa and the rest of the family - which drove plot in turn. 

PS Roger used to pull THE MOST hillarious facial expressions whenever characters like Marilyn or Celia came through the door. Quite flamboyant ones at that. Always makes me giggle! And as a gay man, he really does tickle my inner gaydar at times!

[BobbyFridge]

1 minute ago, nenehcherry2 said:

 

PS Roger used to pull THE MOST hillarious facial expressions when Marilyn or Celia came through the door. Quite flamboyant ones at that. Always makes me giggle!

Lol, Tom didn't suffer fools gladly did he. He didn't have much time for the likes of Celia, Marilyn, Lance, Martin or Nico the Greek guy Lynn befriended. 

I have to admit i am finding Marilyn quite annoying this time round, she leaves soon in the episodes i am on as she has met Phil.

[j.laur5]

 Pippa could get quite fiery towards adults too at times as Pippa told Celia to shut up once and told Donald to get a life. Pippa certainly didn’t put up with Morag's nonsense either . 

I liked Pippa most around 1997 and 1998 as you really felt for her in being fed up with Summer Bay. After everything she went through and still continued doing her best she could looking after kids. 

[CaptainHulk]

He at least did try with Nico, let him live there a bit.

The others would just pop up at innoportune times or do things that would give any one of us "Forrest Whittaker eye"

[nenehcherry2]

4 hours ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

I agree how the kids must have hated it going to a school where the headmaster treats it like it is a Victorian workhouse then coming home to a fellow tyrant Michael cracking the whip.

Complete with Debra's Pippa wearing Edwardian gowns! 

[adam436]

15 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

 @adam436which claimed Pippa did something bad to Jack in 1995 that was implied to be the worst thing she'd ever done to a foster kid. I probably thought it was the incident you were talking about. If it was 1995, then they might even have been talking about the bushfire, in which case, really? We're blaming Pippa for not being happy about that?

I found the episodes in question, and it was late 1994. I remember someone from the department coming out and Jack thought he was going to be "sent back". I think it was more of a miscommunication between Jack and Pippa. Pippa did overreact to various problems Jack caused because of the stress of her separation, but she was never going to send him away. Jack just got paranoid and the storyline resulted in him falling off the roof trying to prove that he was needed and the man around the house etc. 

 

12 hours ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

I so wish VanPip had met Michael, or DebPip had met Tom.

I don't think it would have worked to be honest. I am not sure why, I just can't imagine Vanessa and Dennis, or Debra and Roger having the same chemistry as they did with their actual on-screen partners. Had Vanessa stayed, I think Pippa's second husband would have been a completely different person. 

 

[Red Ranger 1]

8 hours ago, adam436 said:

I found the episodes in question, and it was late 1994. I remember someone from the department coming out and Jack thought he was going to be "sent back". I think it was more of a miscommunication between Jack and Pippa. Pippa did overreact to various problems Jack caused because of the stress of her separation, but she was never going to send him away. Jack just got paranoid and the storyline resulted in him falling off the roof trying to prove that he was needed and the man around the house etc. 

Ah yes, that makes sense. I got a bit confused when someone pointed out all that was in 1994.

[nenehcherry2]

11 hours ago, adam436 said:

I found the episodes in question, and it was late 1994. I remember someone from the department coming out and Jack thought he was going to be "sent back". I think it was more of a miscommunication between Jack and Pippa. Pippa did overreact to various problems Jack caused because of the stress of her separation, but she was never going to send him away. Jack just got paranoid and the storyline resulted in him falling off the roof trying to prove that he was needed and the man around the house etc. 

 

I don't think it would have worked to be honest. I am not sure why, I just can't imagine Vanessa and Dennis, or Debra and Roger having the same chemistry as they did with their actual on-screen partners. Had Vanessa stayed, I think Pippa's second husband would have been a completely different person. 

 

I agree with you 100%, Adam. The concept of Roger/Debra or Vanessa/Dennis seems strange to all of us (though, no doubt reinforced by us knowing the ordering of pairings in addition to Dennis and Debra's real-life marriage). In my view, Vanessa and Dennis in particular would have looked bizarre together, physically speaking (I admit that is very mean of me to suggest!) yet I can imagine some chemistry of sorts, whilst I can't imagine the chemistry itself between Roger and Debra (Debra seemed very selective in who she developed chemsitry with, in my opinion; for example, her chemistry with Nicolle Dickson was often a bit weak as I perceived it). 

However, on paper VD with Roger would have been very interesting. Michael's at-times impulsive, fiery characterisation balanced with the manner in which the equally fiery yet well-humoured, youthful and quirky VD's Pip was both written and acted would have created some good conflict / love worth watching - plus, can imagine Michael's little "dad jokes" making VD Pippa laugh! On the other hand, the concept of DL's far flatter, "being a Mum is everything I am about with little else going on in my life" Pip with Textbook Tom seems a bit... Waltons meets the Brady Bunch!

I truly believe that Pippa would have still remarried by about 91 if Vanessa had stayed. But I can't see them casting Roger to play Michael. And Michael would have been written very differently to allow for screen matching with the interpretation of Pippa that Vanessa had created.